Reed switches are commonly employed for sensing the position of a mechanism the movement of which is to be monitored, by providing a switched output in response to the passage or approach of an actuating magnet carried by the mechanism. For example, a reed switch can be used to monitor the position of a garage door by placing the reed switch for actuation by a magnet carried by the shaft of the motor of a garage door opener mechanism which moves the garage door between its open and closed positions. The reed switch can be a component of a shaft encoder assembly the output of which can be used to determine if the door has been stopped short of its closed position indicating the door has engaged an obstruction, or if the door has reached an up or down limit position so that the electrical power to the motor should be interrupted allowing the door to coast to its final position to avoid a high mechanical impact.
Appropriate mounting of a reed switch has presented difficulties because the glass envelope in which the metallic reeds are disposed is fragile. These envelopes are manufactured with both circular and rectangular cross sections. The glass envelopes are susceptible to damage unless adequately supported in a reed switch housing. As the reed switch and its holder are often assembled by the consumer of apparatus such as a garage door opener, it is always desirable that the assembly be simplified and that the completion of electrical connections to the leads of the reed switch be as easy as possible.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,335,270 to Holce et al. shows a one-piece plastic reed switch housing having a hinge at one end for holding a cover. The cover has a catch having an opening for snapping over a protuberance at the end of the housing not carrying the hinge. Both the leads of the switch extend from the same end of the housing, the end having the hinge.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,409,577 to Holce et al. shows a similar reed switch holder structure having a hinge for the cover at one end of the base. The housing carries a pair of spaced termination clamps positioned adjacent the ends of the base for use in connecting the leads of the reed switch to external conductors. U.S. Pat. No. 4,371,856 to Holce et al. discloses yet another reed switch holder, this time with structure permitting the electrical testing of the contained reed switch.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,838,213 to Georgopulos et al. depicts a case for holding a discrete electrical component. The case is formed of two halves connected by side hinges and with latching components at the other side of each half. The specific use indicated for the case is for holding loading coils for telephone circuits.